Ferdinand Schrank is a member of American Legion Post 111; 15045 S. West Avenue; Orland Park, IL 60462. Mr. Schrank was a member of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard during WWII and would like to contact any of his old shipmates. He can be reached at the above email address and we will forward the message. He is also interested in joining an Armed Guard Veterans group - Any Suggestions? Thank You - JH

Mr. Schrank may be interested in joining the U.S.N. Armed Guard WW II Veterans Association. The Association publishes an interesting periodical, named "The Pointer," with articles about the experiences of Naval Armed Guard personnel during World War II. The Association charges no membership dues but gladly accepts donations. Contact information for the Association is:

The U.S.N. Armed Guard WW II Veterans Association has a number of local chapters. The closest one to Mr. Schrank appears to be the Illinois/Wisconsin chapter, which meets several times yearly in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, about 90 miles north of you. Contact Jay and Jane Wildfong, 13211 Durand Ave., Sturtevant, WI 53177, telephone 262-886-2966 or e-mail wildfong@cs.com.

In searching ancestry.com for Mr. Schrank, I found that he arrived in New York City as a member of the Armed Guard crews aboard the S.S. MONTEREY in 1943 and the S.S. MIDNIGHT in 1944. He may have served on other ships as well.

Ron Carlson's info indicated that Mr. Schrank served on the SS Monterey. My father served as a signaman on the Monterey from 14 December 1941 through 27 July 1942. If Mr. Schrank served on Monterey during that time, I would love to hear from him. If so, please contact me directly at rick@pitz.net. I have some information on the Monterey during that period as a result of my own research.

Names of ships and dates are always very helpful in locating old shipmates and aquaintances. We are all getting to that point we often can't remember names of men we served with without something for a reference such as ship's name, dates served on, convoy, ports of call, combat you were in, etc., etc. Roy Brown